Finish Rail Now

FEATURED STORIES

Mahalo for your support of Friends of Rail in the days leading to the special session and during the session itself. Whether you donated money, joined us for signwaving, submitted testimony, or just liked the Friends of Rail Facebook page, we truly appreciate your kokua.

The latest and largest poll of O‘ahu residents shows a clear and continued climb in support for the completion of the full 20-mile, 21-station transit system, as well as acceptance of the GET surcharge to pay for construction of the project.

Friends of Rail is hopeful Senate Bill No. 4 will provide the funding necessary to construct Honolulu’s rail project to Ala Moana. If it falls short, we will look to the legislature to quickly fix any shortcomings and do what is necessary to meet the requirements of the Full Funding Grant Agreement.

REASONS FOR RAIL

Rail connects Oahu’s fastest-growing communities.

Rail transit will provide a fast, safe, reliable alternative to driving in H-1/H-2 traffic congestion from West Oahu. Without it, the state would have to invest billions of dollars in new highways to match the passenger volume of rail transit.

Work, school, shopping and more.

Rail transit will be used to commute to and from work and school. It will connect UH-West Oahu, LCC, HCC, HPU, and other schools in town. It serves major shopping malls (including Pearl Highlands, Pearlridge, Ward Center and Ala Moana), Honolulu International Airport, and Aloha Stadium.

Rail doesn’t have traffic jams.

Because it operates on its own elevated guideway, rail doesn’t intersect with highways and roads. Unlike buses (and at-grade light rail) rail keeps moving at full speed, even when traffic is gridlocked.

Rail is environmentally friendly.

Rail transit runs on electricity, not gasoline or diesel. So as more and more electricity is generated by wind, solar and other renewable energy sources, rail transit gets greener and greener. Less auto and bus exhaust means cleaner air for everyone.

Rail really moves.

Because it runs on a fixed guideway, without interference from street traffic, it can move quickly between stations. The full 20-mile ride from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center will take just 42 minutes, even in rush hour.

Rail doesn’t add more cars to urban Honolulu.

When people ride rail, their cars stay at home, so there’s less traffic congestion in town, and fewer cars competing for parking.

Rail Transit is cheaper to run than TheBus.

Because Rail is driverless, the operating costs will be much less than TheBus, in fact, about half as much. And the cost of operating and maintaining Rail will increase much more slowly than it will for TheBus.

Rail and TheBus will be integrated.

Rail transit is designed to work with other transportation options, especially TheBus, which will share the same electronic payment smartcard system.

We’re already more than halfway pau.

More than 10 of the 20 miles of elevated guideway is in place. It’s now past Aloha Stadium and heading to the airport. The central maintenance and operation facility is complete and operational. Nine of 21 stations are under construction, and actual trains are being tested on the guideway.